martyrdom

noun

mar·​tyr·​dom ˈmär-tər-dəm 

1

: the suffering of death on account of adherence to a cause and especially to one's religious faith

… defended moral truth even to the point of enduring martyrdom …

—Andrew Sullivan

2

: affliction, torture

Examples of martyrdom in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Tehran Times said more than 140 people were injured in two explosions taking place in the southern Iranian city of Kerman as the country marks the 4th martyrdom anniversary of Soleimani's death. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024

By the close of this passage, Cyrus seems to have rejected the idea of art martyrdom. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2024

Fixates on internal feelings of pain and suffering, perpetuating a sense of helplessness and martyrdom. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024

From innocence to experience to triumph, and finally an agonizing martyrdom. —Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

Palestinian leaders will have to be empowered who do not have Israeli blood on their hands, willing to renounce the cult of martyrdom destroying their society, but also with ironically enough anti-Israel credentials to have the credibility to negotiate. —TIME, 20 Feb. 2024

These images have all the drama of paintings of Catholic martyrdoms. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2024

But if martyrdom were so satisfying, cycling through all its variants would have been more reassuring. —Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024

But his group’s intense combination of victimhood and passion for martyrdom lived on. —Sam Kiley, CNN, 14 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

martyrdom

noun

mar·​tyr·​dom ˈmärt-ərd-əm 

1

: the sufferings and death of a martyr

2

: torment entry 1 sense 1